One of my favorite Mexican restaurants is the tiny Oaxaca Grill (3447 W. Forest Home Ave.). The interior is like a Northwoods log cabin decorated with colorful Mexican artifacts. The menu, made up of many Oaxacan dishes, started small but has grown over the years.

Although Ethiopian food isn’t new to Milwaukee, the first restaurant completely devoted to this unique fare didn’t open until last year. Now there is a second place to enjoy these unusual dishes: Alem Ethiopian Village.

Though Café 1505 is located inside a small shopping mall near a busy intersection in Mequon, it feels more like a Third Ward destination. The light and airy café (1505 W. Mequon Road) is aided by walls of exposed brick and colorful,...

Apollo, god of the sun, drove his chariot across the sky each day from dawn to dusk. The Apollo Cafe honors the ancient Greek myth by incorporating a solar motif throughout its interior design.

Afternoon tea in England calls to mind white tablecloths, gleaming silverware, paper-thin china and a tiered stand with savories and pastries. Such is the high tea offered in the ornate lobby bar of the Pfister Hotel, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Can I bring more fish here?” asks the waitress in an expectant tone. More coffee, sure—most restaurants still offer a bottomless cup. But fish?

The East Side’s landscape may evolve around it, but Wisconsin’s oldest Middle Eastern restaurant has changed little over time. Sure, they put in a new floor and changed the drapes in recent years, but the menu remains largely the same.

The Irish pub is a worldwide phenomenon. Internationally, I have found them in cities as diverse as Chiang Mai, Dubrovnik, Buenos Aires and even a small village in Peru’s Colca Canyon region.

Never judge a restaurant by its lunch buffet, especially if the restaurant happens to be Thai, Chinese or Indian. Stir-fried food keeps poorly on a steam table; meat is often used sparingly; and spicier dishes tend to be so mild as to be unrecognizable.

The usual pattern for a successful chef is bigger and bigger: larger dining rooms, multiple locations and perhaps even a television show. All of this also means less time spent in the kitchen.